CHARLIE WYKE admits Sunderland will be on a revenge mission when they renew rivalries with Portsmouth in the play-off semi-finals.

Having finished in fifth position in the wake of Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Southend United, the Black Cats will take on Pompey for a place at Wembley, with the first leg taking place at the Stadium of Light on Saturday night.

The two sides have already met on three occasions this season, with Sunderland yet to record a victory. A defeat and a draw in the league sandwiched the Checkatrade Trophy final, which saw Portsmouth triumph on penalties after a dramatic 2-2 draw.

Sunderland’s dreadful end to the league programme means Portsmouth will start as favourites, and Kenny Jackett’s side will be boosted by staging the decisive second leg of the semi-final at Fratton Park.

However, while Wyke concedes his side’s form has dipped at the worst possible time, the Sunderland striker is still confident he and his team-mates will break their Pompey hoodoo when it matters most.

“We know what they’re about,” said Wyke, who recovered from a dead leg to regain his place in the starting line-up at Southend. “We’ll do our analysis and see where we can hurt them. We’ve played them a few times this season and haven’t beaten them, but I think it's time to put that right now and get a bit of revenge. 

“We didn't put our chances away on the day (in their last league meeting), but we know we can create them and we've just got to take then when they come.”

This time last week, Sunderland were still dreaming of automatic promotion, but back-to-back defeats at Fleetwood and Southend ensured they would end the conventional season in the play-off positions.

It is the first time Jack Ross’ side have lost two games in a row since dropping out of the Championship, and while Saturday’s match can be written off as something of a dead rubber, the Black Cats’ nosediving form is still a major source of concern.

Even Ross has conceded his players have to step up significantly on their last two displays, but Wyke fully expects a markedly different Sunderland side to turn up on Saturday night.

The striker has lost a play-off final with Bradford City, and is determined to avoid more disappointment in the next few weeks.

“We’re really disappointed, but we’ve got to dust ourselves down and look ahead to the game on Saturday now,” he said. “We know what we’ve got to do now, we’ve got to win three games and that’s all we can focus on.

“It hasn’t quite happened for us this week. We’ve been really disappointed with the results and the performances, so we’ve got to address it.”

Sunderland were especially poor at Roots Hall, with Southend’s superior desire evident from the opening stages as they tore into their opponents in an attempt to safeguard their League One status.

The contrasting emotions at the final whistle could hardly have been more marked, with Southend’s players celebrating with the home supporters on the pitch as the Sunderland side scurried towards the dressing room, and with more than 2,000 away fans having made the long trek to Essex despite automatic promotion having already been ruled out, Wyke admits there is a need to make amends for a bitterly disappointing day.

“All we can do is apologise,” he said. “And the only way we can apologise is by going on Saturday and winning, and then look forward from there.

“The fans have been fantastic all season, and I’m sure they’ll come out in force and support us. Everyone will be disappointed, but for us, we’ve got to look back on what we did wrong, where we can be better and address it. We’ve got to keep the mood upbeat, train hard and look forward to Saturday.”